


So Very Human

by round_robin



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Deepthroating, Drinking, Episode: s02e09 The Measure of a Man, M/M, Oral Sex, Past Relationship(s), past Data/Tasha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 01:59:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5988238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/round_robin/pseuds/round_robin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riker shook his head. "I took advantage of your trust in me. No matter the reason or the outcome, that is unforgivable."</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Very Human

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm new-ish to the Star Trek fandom and this is my first fic for it. I do have a lot of Sherlock fics and some Supernatural. I'm only through season 3 of TNG, so if there's something here that's wrong or doesn't make sense, it's probably because I haven't seen that plot line yet. This is also my first fic after a very long writer's block, so it's a little rough in some spots. If I think of ways to smooth it out, I'll definitely be back to update. I usually have a lot of author notes, you don't need to read them, but I like to explain my reasons for doing things.
> 
> If you find a typo, please include it with your comment and it'll be caught and shot. Thank you, and enjoy.

Data set the last of his things in his quarters, the image of Tasha back in its rightful place. At first, she was hostile and combative at any mention of their special relationship, but that was just Tasha. She took time to open up. And when she did, she was the one who coined Data her “special friend.” She would always have a fond place in his memory banks.

Those memories were for looking at in different times, though. With one last touch to the shelf, Data backed away and settled into his preferred chair.

The party celebrating his victory at the hearing was still raging on the holodeck. While Data was perfectly capable of continuing to revel with the rest of the ship, he had some minor maintenance to perform. Should the hearing today have gone any other way, he’d taken... precautions, and stored some of his more advanced software behind a partition. If Commander Maddox shut him down and disassembled him, all the programs and memory files behind the partition would delete before he got near a computer terminal.

Data shook himself, riding his mind of the idea of being disassembled. He deleted the partition and restored all software to the correct areas. He noticed a few other things that needed tending. No reason he couldn’t tidy up while he was in here.

The trill of the door’s alert brought him out of his systems. “Come in, please.”

The door slid open and Commander Riker stumbled forward, catching himself on the door. Data got to his feet to assist but Riker waved him off. “My apologies. I seem to have over indulged.”

All metabolic signs proved that statement correct. Commander Riker’s face was flushed, his step more than unsteady, and Data already detected the first hints of alcohol secreting from his pores. This puzzled him, as Commander Riker wasn’t one to drink so heavily, no matter the celebration.

“Commander, are you feeling well? Do you need assistance getting back to your quarters?” They were on the same deck. It made sense that Riker simply rang his bell to gain help.

Grabbing Data’s shoulder, Riker half walked, half stumbled them over to the small couch. Data did his best to retain their balance, with some difficulty. Despite his prodigious strength, Riker’s inebriated gate set their pace. Once on the couch, Riker managed to drag Data down with him. They both sat on the small sofa, their knees brushing together, the Commander’s hand still on his shoulder.

“I came to apologize.” Up close like this, his intoxication was even more pronounced: his hair a little more mussed than usual, and his eyes were wide and shiney.

“Apologize? For what, sir?” Data asked, simultaneously researching alcohol intoxication to decide when and if he needed to take Riker to sickbay.

“For the trial,” he said. He slid his hand down to grip Data’s wrist, his other hand coming to rest on Data’s knee. He wasn’t sure the Commander was aware of this movement. “I know we talked earlier, and you said there was nothing to forgive. I still feel that there is.”

Data accessed the transcript from their previous conversation. “Actually, sir, I believe I said you saved me. By putting my needs above your own, you helped secure my victory. There is nothing to apologize for.”

Riker smiled, shaking his head. “You absolved me of responsibility, and yet, I took advantage of our friendship.” His smile faded and he sighed. Data took a quick analysis of the alcohol content of the Commander’s breath. He was under dangerous levels. “I know how much you dislike being shut down, and I know how few people knew about your switch before Lore.” Riker shook his head, his face pinched and angry. “I took advantage of your trust in me. No matter the reason or the outcome, that is unforgivable.”

“You are incorrect, sir,” Data said. It was clear Riker required reassurance before he accepted his absolution, and Data was more than able to give that reassurance. “It was all necessary, and if you had not done it, I might not be here with you. To borrow your phrase, there is nothing to forgive.”

“I could’ve stopped at your hand,” Riker said, he seemed to be speaking more to himself. His eyes dropped away from their intense focus on Data and he shook his head. “I wanted to prove you were other than human. Your hand was enough. I didn’t have to... kill you.”

For as inebriated as the Commander appeared, his memory served him well. Data remembered only one instance where he described his deactivation akin to a human death. Clearly, the words stuck with Commander Riker. “Sir, it is in your nature to fully apply yourself to any appointed task. I do not begrudge you for staying true to that nature, just as you would not begrudge me for my own. Please, put it out of your mind.”

Riker shook his head again. “No. Let me make it up to you, please.”

The sensors in Data’s wrist registered the impressive force Commander Riker used to squeeze him. There was more at play here than a simple need for forgiveness.

In a gesture he hoped came across as comforting, Data covered Riker’s hand with his own. “Yes, sir. If you need to compensate me to assuage your guilt, I agree.”

His smile returned, eyes sparkling with mirth and drink. “Thank you, Data.” He didn’t seem to mind the touch of Data’s hand on his. “Then again,” he sighed, “what weaknesses about human nature can I give you that you don’t already know?”

Before Data could answer, Riker smiled, squeezing his wrist somehow harder. “I know: I used one of your secrets against you, so I’ll tell you one of mine.”

“Sir, I am afraid you will find that was my only secret. Such an exchange is unfair to you.”

But Riker was already on his feet, fumbling with the zipper of his uniform. Data stood up as well, their close proximity making it difficult. “Sir, please. A symptom of alcohol intoxication is loss of inhibition and rational thought. I feel you will regret this course of action.”

Riker wasn’t listening. Shrugging out of his uniform, he tied the sleeves low on his waist, like a pair of mechanic’s coveralls. Knowing what he did of human modesty, Data stepped away, giving him more room to accomplish whatever he was intent on doing.

Arms, shoulders and back completely bared, Riker turned away from Data. Using one hand to brace himself on the sofa, he bent forward and pointed to a long scar. It stretched from his lower abdomen over his hip and around his back. “When I was fourteen, my father and I went camping. We got into an argument and I stormed off. I wasn’t watching where I was going and slipped, fell into a gully. I fell on a decent sized bolder and damaged my left kidney.” His fingers absently ran across the scar, over and over again, like the feel of it activated the memory. “By the time we made it to a hospital, there wasn’t much left to do but remove it.”

The story gave Data pause. Given the state of mid-twenty-fourth century medicine, the scar shouldn’t be this large. He cross referenced what he knew of Riker’s upbringing (which was to say, not much). He grew up in Alaska, and while it was not the underfunded, undersupplied frontier it once was, it did explain the crudeness of the sutures. In the case of triage medicine, pretty was not the goal.

“Starfleet has offered me a replacement many times,” Riker said. “I keep turning them down.”

“Why, sir? Surely you want to return to full functionality?”

His shoulders shook and a deep chuckle rolled through him. “It’s been fifteen years, Data. I’ve lived without it for this long, no reason I can’t continue.”

Data nodded. He suspected this was one of those human things. “Thank you for showing me, sir.”

Riker straightened up, his fingers still tracing over the scar. “Starfleet knows. It’s in my medical file, but just as a childhood injury. No one knows that story.”

“Thank you, sir,” Data said again, for lack of a better response. “Do you feel better now, sir?”

He was silent for a moment. “I don’t know.”

Riker stood silently, his back to Data, fingers still tracing over the scar. It was an interesting specimen. Such large, rough scarring was hard to find these days. Data wondered...

“Sir,” he asked. “Might you permit me to examine the scar tissue? I have only seen images of such damages before and it is quite interesting to see up close.”

“Of course, Data.”

Data meant only to take a visual scan of the area, but Commander Riker grabbed his hand, pulling it down to the scar. Guiding Data’s hand, his fingers traced over the long line of puckered skin. Data wasn’t opposed, he could examine the area fine like this.

A moment of silence passed. “What did it feel like?” Riker asked. “When I shut you off?”

“Even if I have no direct experience with it, death is the only comparison I can find,” Data said. He didn’t like speaking about it, but given the Commander’s state, indulgence seemed best. “The switch itself provides no sensation, save a small pinch. When, or if, I am activated again, I retain no memory from the time I was not functioning. One moment, I am in one place or set of circumstances. Another moment, I am somewhere else entirely, with no memory of how this came to pass. It frightens me to have such a gap in my memory.”

“It frightens you?” Riker turned, his eyes suddenly wet. “I never knew...”

Large fat tears rolled down Riker’s cheeks and Data felt a pinch inside his chest. There were nights—just a few—when Tasha’s nightmares were too much for her to bear. The same tears rolled down her face as she leaned against Data, who had been completely at a loss for how to help. She assured him there was nothing he could do, yet he remembered one method of lifting Tasha’s mood.

“There, there,” he said, wiping his thumb across Riker’s face, pushing the tears away. “It is all in the past.”

A hand, larger and warmer than Tasha’s settled over his. Eyes as bright blue as her’s peered into his own. Riker leaned forward, wet lips sliding against Data’s. This kiss was different than Tasha as well, coarser and bristly, but just as pleasing. It had been so long since Data felt the warmth of human companionship this close. He missed it very much.

And yet, he couldn’t let it continue. Placing a hand on the Commander’s chest, he pushed him away as gently as possible. “Sir, I feel I am taking advantage. Alcohol intoxication leads to lowered inhibition and impairs decision making skills. Were you sober, you would not make this decision. I also fear you will regret it tomorrow.”

“I’m a grown man, Data,” he whispered. “I can take responsibility for my own actions.” His eyes swept over Data’s face. “Unless, you don’t want to?”

With Riker so close, Data felt the warmth of his chest, even the quickening beat of his heart. Oh, how he missed the closeness, the pounding of life-giving blood under so thin a membrane. Humanity was one of the few things Data didn’t hesitate to call miraculous. “I am not opposed,” he said. “Neither do I wish I take advantage.”

Riker smiled. “Well then, it shall be my advantage.”

He kissed Data again, chapped lips providing new sensations and experiences. Tasha was strangely soft. For all her defensive bluster, her skin was like silk, and her lips were the softest part. Data enjoyed running his hands over her skin, taking readings of the minute changes in texture.

Riker was as different as possible. His hands were large and hot, grabbing roughly at Data’s uniform, almost breaking the zipper in his attempts to disrobe them both. His lips were dry in one spot, soft in another. And his beard... Data had never felt anything like it. The individual hairs were coarse, but the whole was smooth. The contradiction made his mind sing.

Still, he felt the need to offer reason, just one last time. Breaking away again, he held Riker at arm’s length. “Sir, is this what you truly want?”

“Yes.” The Commander pulled Data’s hand up, brushing it against his beard. “And it’s Will. Call me Will.”

“Will.” Riker kissed him again, and this time, he did not attempt to break it.

Data began mimicking the movements Tasha enjoyed. Soft and reverent swipes of his tongue over the bottom lip; pressing a smaller, more chaste kiss to the edge of the mouth, and so on. Quite soon, it became obvious that Riker was a different sort of being. His hands gripped tight to Data’s arms, pulling him in. Blunt human teeth bit and nipped at his lips, sucking the bottom one in and biting harder.

Given this new information, Data was able to correct. Turning them around, he used his greater strength and pushed Riker back onto the sofa, then dropped to his knees and began removing the rest of their clothing.

In the fog of alcohol, the Commander took a moment to assess their new arrangement. “Data, what are you doing?”

Riker’s uniform and shoes now in a pile on the floor, Data saw to his own uniform. He paused. “Is nudity not the preferred way to conduct matters such as this?”

Riker smirked. There was a sly little twinkle in his eye that Data had seen before. Females found it particularly disarming and Data agreed. “Yes it is,” he said. “Please, continue.” He sat back and watched Data disrobe, eyes tracking each movement.

Once they were both naked, Riker leaned forward and placed his hands on Data’s hips, thumbs rubbing over his android skin. “No belly button.” He traced one thumb over the blank area on Data’s lower torso. “I expected it, but the reality is... strange.”

“Oh.”

Data tried to move away, but Riker held fast. “It’s not a bad thing.” To prove as much, he bent down and kissed that blank spot, running his tongue all around, across Data’s stomach, from one hip to the other.

So many sensations to catalog, Data didn’t know where to begin. He closed his eyes, cutting off one flow of information to better focus on the wet tongue licking across his skin.

“Tell me, Data,” Riker whispered. His lips still pressed to Data’s stomach, the air expelled with each word danced along his skin, setting his sensors alight. A large hand wrapped around his mostly flaccid penis and Data opened his eyes. Riker’s eyes sparkled up at him, that devilish grin still in place. “Are you... fully functional?”

“Yes, I am.” He took Riker’s hands in his, lacing their fingers together and pushing them back onto the sofa. With Riker on his back, he got the full view of Data’s quickly forming erection. “I can vary the size as needed.” At that, Riker’s lips parted a little. Fascinating. “I am well versed in a variety of erotic technique. Do you wish me to demonstrate?”

“Please do.”

Data kissed his way down Riker’s chest, cataloguing reactions for maximum pleasure. As it turned out, male nipples were just as sensitive as female nipples, at least, if the way the Commander moaned and grabbed at him was anything to go by. And chest hair, Data had never even thought about chest hair. It was all so new and exciting.

Coming to a stop in front of Riker’s sizable erection, Data took a moment to study. Even in his inebriated state, it was quite robust. Like its owner, the size was considerable. Approximately 19.5 centimeters, and thick. It arced to the left, but not comically so. The foreskin was completely lost in the length, fully revealing the large red head. The hair around the base was trimmed only a little, enough to keep the area tidy. Data detected heightened notes of human pheromones clinging to the hair, which explained Commander Riker’s subtle musk. The human body was a miraculous thing.

Data released some of his bio-fluid into his mouth and licked at the head, using one hand to steady the base. “Oh, God!” Riker moaned, hips jerking. The strong movement could have unseated anyone else, but Data held firm. He placed his free hand on Riker’s hip, pushing him back down.

A few more licks and he took the whole length in his mouth at once. Data didn’t need to breathe, so he had no trouble with it. Judging by his reaction, this was not a sensation Riker was familiar with. It made sense. His considerable size would make it difficult for a human partner to accommodate the whole length.

When Data’s nose hit his belly, Riker gasped, louder than before. He grabbed Data’s hair and tugged hard, then suddenly released. “I’m s-sorry,” he panted, shivering a little. “I didn’t mean to be so rough.”

Data pulled off for a moment. “There is no need to worry with me. I do not feel pain, so you may be as rough as you need.”

The head of Riker’s cock hit the back of Data’s throat again before he had a chance to understand the android’s words. For the second time in as many minutes, he howled at the sensation. Riker closed his eyes and thrust his hips, letting go of the day’s guilt and stress.

Data released more bio-fluid to smooth the way and the Commander’s hold on his hair tightened. Tongue lashing across the shaft, he tried to give equal attention to the most erogenous areas. The novelty of “deep throating” as it was colloquially known, was probably wearing thin. Data pulled back to stimulate the foreskin and sensitive head, around the slit and down the shaft again. Soon, he found a rhythm that pleased Riker. Based on a combination of sounds and how tight he pulled Data’s hair, he was able to find the most pleasurable areas over and over again.

Riker’s breath came faster and faster, his chest heaving. “Uh... uh, oh...”

Data knew from past experience that such noises were not cause for worry. Tasha made similar sounds, of a higher and breathier quality. She laughed the first time they alarmed him. Apparently, the idea of a stark naked Data carrying a similarly unclothed Tasha through the ship to medical was a cause for great mirth. As with most jokes, Data didn’t get it.

Though most of his focus was on pleasuring Riker, he continued to monitor the other signals from his body. Sweat beaded all over his skin, and his moans became louder, more constant. The local temperature around Riker’s pelvis shot up over thirty-eight degrees. Paired with the final indicator of testicles drawing close to the body, and Data knew Riker was about to ejaculate. He released Riker’s cock from his mouth, continuing manual stimulation. His hips bucked one last time, then his back arched like a bow. Pearl-white fluid erupted from the tip of his cock and Riker turned his head to shout, muffling the sound in the fabric of the couch.

It was fascinating to watch. Like the proverbial geyser, it just kept coming and coming, leaving sticky ropes of ejaculate across his chest. One drop even hit the underside of Riker’s chin.

Twenty-three seconds later, Riker slumped back onto the sofa and pushed Data’s hands away. “That—that’s enough. Thank you.” His eyes unfocused, breath calming, but still frantic. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome.” Data examined the pools of ejaculate soaking into Riker’s chest hair. That would be difficult to clean. “I do apologize for the finish. I understand it is considered polite to swallow, but semen is not compatible with my internal hardware.”

Riker chuckled, such a soft sound compared to earlier, when it held a nearly predatory quality. “It’s fine, Data. More than fine.” His eyes fell shut again and silence surrounded them.

A quick scan showed chemicals associated with sleep flooding the Commander’s system. “Will, would you like to rest in my bed? The couch cannot be comfortable to you for long.”

“You know, Data, I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Data stood up to give Riker room to do the same. After a few false starts, he managed to get to his feet, then immediately staggered. Whether the drunkenness or the post coital haze was the culprit was unclear. Data assisted him in their walk to the bedroom, lowering the Commander down onto his bed, then leaving to get something to clean up with. He found a stack of hand towels under his sink. They were standard issue in all the dormitories, but Data had no need of them so they sat in his pristine bathroom, which he also did not need.

He returned to the bedroom with a wet cloth in hand and began cleaning the ejaculate fluid off the Commander’s chest. Already, it was sticky and difficult to remove. “Data,” he mumbled. “You don’t have to do that.” He made a half attempt to take the cloth away.

“Will, please allow me. You are in no state for this.”

Data finished up and returned the dirty cloth to the bathroom to be cleaned later. When he returned, Riker was softly snoring. Data sat down on the bed and took one last reading, to make sure everything was alright, and Riker grabbed his wrist. Eyes opening to slits, he smiled. “Stay with me for a bit?”

“As you wish, Will.” Data settled on the bed and Riker curled around him.

Head pressed against Data’s side, he fell asleep again almost instantly. Riker was warm, so warm, his skin felt like it was on fire. All his vital signs read as normal and Data assumed it was one of those wonderful human things that could not be adequately explained. The soft rise and fall of Riker’s chest was almost hypnotic, Data could watch and listen to him breathing for hours. He might just do that.

He lifted one hand and brushed it through the Commander’s hair. “Mmm,” he moaned, moving closer to Data. He hadn’t shared his bed with a human since Tasha, he’d almost forgotten how interesting they were, even in sleep.

Data shifted a little and wrapped both arms around Riker. This time, when he extended his senses, he wasn’t taking readings for the sake of information, he wasn’t calculating the remaining musk clinging to Riker or how many calories he’d burned. This time, Data simply enjoyed the feelings he himself was having. Hot human skin pressed so close to his own, warm breath across his chest... how he’d missed it.

Closing his eyes, Data went into monitor mode, where he recorded every sensory input and saved the information. In his quiet, contemplative moments, he took such memories out to experience them again. He didn’t have many recordings of Tasha. She didn’t like him monitoring her this way. It was part of why he kept her portrait: it supplemented his incomplete memory of their time together. He would not make that same mistake with Riker, especially because it was probably the only chance he’d have to feel like this for a long time.

Hugging Riker closer, Data made the most of their night together.

~

A sharp chirp woke Riker from a dreamless sleep. He reached out to silence his alarm, only to find what felt like another person. Data. Bits and pieces of last night slowly came back. Riker rubbed his eyes. “Data?” His dry throat barely worked. “Data, what time is it?”

“O-seven-hundred, sir. There is one hour remaining until our shift on the bridge.”

“Thank you, Data.” He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Vision still blurry, he smiled at Data. They were both still naked. He wasn’t so drunk last night to forget all of it, but there was one definite gap he needed to clarify right now. “Data, about last night. Did I... reciprocate?”

“No sir,” Data said, and Riker’s heart fell.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Data, I’m sorry. I came here to apologize to you, and ended up giving myself more to work off. Now I feel like I used you.” William T. Riker was well known for giving as much pleasure as he got. The fact that he might have shorted Data that same courtesy made him sick to his stomach. Maybe a subconscious part of him really did see Data as a thing...

Data cocked his head to the side, Riker knew it as his “thinking” expression. “Sir, my apologies, I misunderstood. You did not reciprocate oral sex, but you did not simply use me as a mastrubatory aid. I do not need the same stimulation to achieve pleasure. Please understand, I very much enjoyed last night.”

“You did?”

“Yes.” Data smiled. “If you let me be so bold, sir, I enjoyed our time together more than you could understand.”

A wide smile broke across Riker’s face. “You did.” It wasn’t a question this time.

“Yes sir,” Data said.

“Good.” He stood up from the bed and gathered up his uniform. “I will see you in an hour, then.”

“Yes sir.” Data watched Riker get into his uniform, watched the expanse of tanned skin disappear, hidden from the world once again. “Sir?”

“Yes, Data?” Though his hair was a little tousled and the smell of sex still lingered on his skin, Riker was once again Commander Riker, First Officer of the Enterprise. He was very different from the man Data spent the night with.

For a moment, Data thought better of his question. But deep in the back of his mind, the memories of hot skin pressed against his and the sound of Riker’s moans spurred him on. “If it is not too forward, Commander, is there a possibility of another encounter?”

Riker smiled. “Of course there is, Data. I’ll see you in an hour.” With a wink, he was out the door.

Data heard the slide of his front door. The Commander was gone.

Not needing to clean up as much, Data leaned back on the bed to spend a little more time with his memories. When he closed his eyes and stimulated the correct neural fibers, it almost felt like Will was still there.

  
The End

**Author's Note:**

> Tons of notes! In no particular order:
> 
> 1\. After "The Naked Now," I like to think that Tasha and Data continued their relationship. It was definitely implied in "The Measure of a Man," and I think they'd be good together.  
> 2\. I completely, 100% made up the kidney thing. I needed a reason for drunk Riker to strip out of his uniform and scars are a good way to do that. Like I said, I'm only in season three, so I don't know if we get to see Riker's naked back. Until then, I'm happy with my little head canon.  
> 3\. 19.5 cm is 7.67 inches, which is a massive cock. Not porn star massive, but substantial. To put that in perspective: a recent study of world penis size put the average at 5.17 inches. And, you can thank my boyfriend for that description. I asked him what he thought Riker's cock would be like and he said: "7.5 inches, girthy, doesn't trim his pubic hair too close. And he definitely knows how to use what he has."  
> 4\. I'm really hoping by the 24th century that society is over the whole "male circumcision" thing. Riker has foreskin, you can't convince me otherwise. (And given his year of birth, Jonathan Frakes probably does too.)


End file.
